15 August 2009

This past week was a real doozy. I was put on a big project at work at the last minute, which necessitated travel to northern Milwaukee for training every day this week.

And, of course, there was still the matter of my professional certification exam.

Since I didn't want to miss any training to take my exam, I rescheduled the test for this morning at 9:00 AM. At the very least, I figured it would give me a few more hours of study time.

Now, training involved being up at 5 AM, meeting my co-workers at a Park-n-Ride at 7:30, traveling 45 minutes to an hour north (navigating rush-hour traffic all the way), training in a new software suite for 7-8 hours, then driving 45 minutes to an hour home. I would study on the ride to/from the training site, and when I got home, I would study for another hour after supper.

Needless to say, I was stressed out of my gourd.

Fast forward to this morning...I actually got to sleep in until 6:30. (You know you lead a sad life when 6:30 is sleeping in!) Then I got up, showered, dressed, had breakfast, and went over my acronym flashcards one more time. I traveled down to the test center (which was located in a privately-owned hangar at the Kenosha Airport), sat in a stuffy closet equipped with three computer carrels, completed the 120 test questions (most of which I knew the answers to), then tried not to sweat profusely as the proctor/hangar owner printed out my scores. 75% is a passing grade for this exam, which is known to be so tough that few people pass it the first time around.Me? I PASSED!!!!!I didn't score any lower than 81% in any category on the test. I stared at the exam results sheet; I admit it took a moment for my adrenaline-fogged brain to comprehend the fact that my week of hell was over, and that I'd passed my dreaded exam. Passed with flying colors, no less! The folks in the hangar office were quite amused by my ensuing happy dance.OMG. All I want to do now is nap. Nap, and do my nails. I'll celebrate tomorrow, when I'm not 1) fluttering, or 2) exhausted.Thanks to everyone for putting up with me! **Smooches** to all!